Snowflake

A lust for revenge suffuses everything and everyone in filmmaker Adolfo J. Kolmerer’s wildly violent, gruesomely funny thriller, which might be described as a cross between the work of Charlie Kaufman and Quentin Tarantino. Javid and Tan (Reza Brojerdi and Erkan Acar) are partners in crime in a dystopian Germany who stumble upon a screenplay that records what they have just said and done and prophesies their unhappy end. The pair track down its author, a sad-sack dentist (Alexander Schubert), and they demand he rewrite it. Their story is juxtaposed with that of Eliana (Xenia Assenza), who is intent on avenging the killing of her parents by Javid and Tan, and—accompanied by a loyal guardian (David Masterson)—seeks hit-men to perform the deed. Over the course of their independent quests the quartet will encounter some very weird folks, including two cannibal brothers who wear animal masks; assassins with a robot in tow; a superhero with electrical powers; an egomaniac intent on becoming the new Hitler; a singer wearing fluffy angel’s wings; and an old man who claims to be God. Although events seem to be happening willy-nilly, the plot strands eventually converge at the doorstep of an anti-immigrant politician whose declarations periodically punctuate the action. The wacky, blood-splattered goings-on in Snowflake—which continue into the closing credits—will frustrate as many viewers as they delight, but this surprisingly well-made film actually winds up making a sort of loony sense. Recommended to those looking for something a little different. (F. Swietek)